Trump politicizes everything, even disaster relief.

Trump published an item to his social media platform on Wednesday afternoon, announcing that he’d personally approved $2.5 million in disaster aid for Missouri. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have been especially notable as a national news story, but the context matters. The president’s online statement didn’t just announce the relief funding, it also emphasized the number of times he won Missouri’s electoral votes, as if there were some kind of connection between his political support in the state and his eagerness to provide disaster aid. The Republican went on to reference the “incredible Patriots” in the GOP stronghold. Just one minute later, Trump published a follow-up item, touting his approval of $15 million for Nebraska. The minute after that, he added a third missive, announcing $25 million for Alaska — “which I won BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024,” he wrote. The president’s apparent eagerness to draw overt and direct connections between disaster relief funds and political considerations was ridiculous, but it was only part of a larger problem. The AP’s report added that the White House denied four requests, “including Maryland’s appeal for reconsideration after the state was denied a disaster declaration for May flooding that severely impacted the state’s two westernmost counties.” Around the same time, Trump also denied a major disaster declaration for Vermont — a state he lost by 31 points — which suffered significant flooding damage in July. It would be easier to see this as a coincidence if the Republican administration had been otherwise evenhanded in dealing with red and blue states, but given the obvious fact that it has not, it makes these latest decisions even more difficult to defend.